Talk:Second conversion

"second conversion" or "the conversion of the baptised" is different to the concept of being "born again", "born of the spirit", or "born from above". I'm going to remove the redirect and make this article a stub for now.

Whilst not all Christians agree on the theology of being "born again", the most popular denominations hold that a person is born again at baptism: "Holy Baptism is the basis of the whole Christian life, the gateway to life in the Spirit (vitae spiritualis ianua), and the door which gives access to the other sacraments. Through Baptism we are freed from sin and reborn as sons of God;" - Catechism of the Catholic Church, para. 1213.

Viz. www.vatican.va/archive/ccc_css/archive/catechism/p2s2c2a4.htm Christ's call to conversion continues to resound in the lives of Christians. This second conversion is an uninterrupted task for the whole Church who, "clasping sinners to her bosom, [is] at once holy and always in need of purification, [and] follows constantly the path of penance and renewal."18 This endeavor of conversion is not just a human work. It is the movement of a "contrite heart," drawn and moved by grace to respond to the merciful love of God who loved us first.19

1429 St. Peter's conversion after he had denied his master three times bears witness to this. Jesus' look of infinite mercy drew tears of repentance from Peter and, after the Lord's resurrection, a threefold affirmation of love for him.20 The second conversion also has a communitarian dimension, as is clear in the Lord's call to a whole Church: "Repent!"21

St. Ambrose says of the two conversions that, in the Church, "there are water and tears: the water of Baptism and the tears of repentance."22

Oliver Low (talk) 11:17, 24 March 2016 (UTC)